CrashPlan aims to use as few system resources as possible to create an environment that focuses on optimizing productivity, minimizing the impact of backups on your computer and keeping your valuable files safe from loss. To increase the speed of your backups, you can change the configuration to allow for greater upload speeds.

Optimize Your Network

When you initially install it, CrashPlan analyzes your network to determine the best data rate for your configuration. If you back up to the cloud, you may not get the maximum speed that's available from your Internet provider, because you must share bandwidth with other CrashPlan subscribers when backing up to the cloud, and this may create a bottleneck. Make sure you use proper filters on any DSL lines that come coupled with an active telephone line. On fiberoptic-cable type connections, place your router where there are no other types of electronic interference such as microwaves and televisions.

Processor Settings

The processor has a moderate effect on your backups. However, if you set up CrashPlan with a low CPU usage setting, your backups suffer as a result. Select the "Settings" option, click the "General" tab, and then change the away and present CPU settings to 100 percent. Use your computer normally and reduce the option for the present CPU usage setting in increments of 10 percent until you find a number that doesn't interfere with your work.

Prioritize Backups

CrashPlan automatically attempts to defer backup processes to a time when you have a low level of system resources utilized. The default option backs up your files every 15 minutes. To reduce the amount of time required for backups, you can back up your files less frequently. This doesn't make CrashPlan faster, but it does require less time overall to back up your computer, since you don't need to wait for files to back up every 15 minutes. Select the "Settings" option in the program, click the "Backups" tab, choose "Configure," and then change the "New Version" slider to a higher time value to increase the time between backups.

Bandwidth Configuration

CrashPlan provides a way to optimize the configuration of your service. By default, it uses a lower setting to ensure that your backups don't interfere with other network activities. Access the "Settings" option, select the "Network" tab, and then change the value from the drop-down menus to "None" in the "Limit Sending Rate When Away To:" and "Limiting Sending Rate When Present To:" sections. If you connect directly to the Internet using a wired connection, increase the "Send Message Buffer Size" by increments of 512KB until you find a value that works well for your system.

About the Author

Avery Martin holds a Bachelor of Music in opera performance and a Bachelor of Arts in East Asian studies. As a professional writer, she has written for Education.com, Samsung and IBM. Martin contributed English translations for a collection of Japanese poems by Misuzu Kaneko. She has worked as an educator in Japan, and she runs a private voice studio out of her home. She writes about education, music and travel.